Group C (England, Algeria, Slovenia, USA! USA! USA!)

[Reece]

I'm sure the players were perfectly happy when we were pissing our way through qualification.

Now a couple of bad results and Capello is doing it all wrong?

I do think that Joe Cole should be playing mind you, but we did alright without him on the way to the World Cup doing what Capello thought was best so......

And the personnel that were out against Algeria were struggling to make 5 yard passes and other simple stuff. Maybe they should look at themselves before pointing the blame at the manager.

[PTP]

i too think joe cole should have been used more,
In fact every football fan in the world thinks joe cole should have played......but **** me - how must joe cole be feeling now.


He's good player, the best we have for what he does - but he is no Kaka, Messi, Iniesta etc -

he'll now either get shunned to spite john terry and the 'media' - or if picked, he's under immense pressure to perform.

If he plays, and is anything other than class......capello could have a field day.

[Shaggy]

Yep, and his form has been way below par since coming back from the injury. I agree he should've played and has to play tomorrow but you're dead right, he'll be under immense pressure to produce his best...which we haven't seen for a while.

[the rev leeroy brown]

Are you seriously suggesting any of us know as much about football as Capello?

no but going by two ****ing terrible performances by england so far it is basic common sense to see things arent right with the team.

[Rich]

Capello is damned either way now, thanks to "JT".

An imbecile of the highest order is Mister England.

[dww]

Capello is damned either way now, thanks to "JT".

An imbecile of the highest order is Mister England.

Surely in this context that is a tautology.

[Neil Young]

no but going by two ****ing terrible performances by england so far it is basic common sense to see things arent right with the team.

Sure, I agree that's clear - "****ing terrible" is a pretty fair summary.

The thing is, I'm not sure Joe Cole is the answer, even though I agree he's a good player. The reason I'm not convinced is very simple - if he was then why hasn't Capello picked him?

That's what interests me - why do (good) managers make the decisions they do when it seems to most of us they're missing a trick? Of course I completely accept even the best managers make mistakes but, like goalkeepers, the best make fewer mistakes than the rest. So assuming Don Fabio hasn't suddenly become blind to Cole's qualities...

I'm sure he's as aware as us that England have been playing badly and that Cole is a good player who, at his best, offers the kind of creativity the team has been lacking.

The only plausible explanation I can think of is Cole is not showing enough in training - in other words he's off form...Unless there's some tactical master plan to which Cole can't contribute as much as others but is deeper than my knowledge of football allows me to see.

[Neil Young]

Of course Capello will now pick Cole who will go on to score nine goals against Slovenia.

This will be used as proof that Capello should have picked him earlier and that I don't know what I'm talking about.

I accept the latter anyway but, even if my prediction comes true, it doesn't prove the former.

[Reece]

Nope, Defoe and Milner replace Heskey and Lennon tomorrow

[Shaggy]

I see the Sky 'sources' believe it's gonna be Rooney & Defoe up front ...and a choice between Milner and Joe Cole on the right.

[SK]

Not sure how much of it is true, but in an interview with Matjaž Kek(the Slovenia manager) i read that he's also preparing for England to play both Crouch and Heskey up front.

[red g]

interesting cole or milner?.....talksport all day have said defo milner and not cole.

[Craig_H]

Not sure how much of it is true, but in an interview with Matjaž Kek(the Slovenia manager) i read that he's also preparing for England to play both Crouch and Heskey up front.

So he does his homework then, this lad...

[MrsB]

Nope, Defoe and Milner replace Heskey and Lennon tomorrow

[SK]

So he does his homework then, this lad...

ask the russians..